Silly Plots 5: Simply for the birds

[bc56]

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope jumps off of the cracks in the ground and watches the two guys go plummeting into the hole that appears. She glances down. "If these wings don't work, I'm burning this place to the ****ing ground!" She steels herself and jumps. She spreads her wings.
She knows nothing about flying, but she's hoping the same weirdness that made her not notice her lack of hands will also make her able to do it anyway.

If not, this is going to hurt.

[Ironsmith]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

You don't need to be burdened by a sickly body, if you're not afraid... The thoughts hint to him. Come find the way, down here.

Weakened by an age of neglect and heavily damaged by the monster's stone-cracking screech, Gwas's weight is the straw that break's the camel's back, so to speak. The cracks spread faster and faster as the floor gives way beneath him. He'll likely be tumbling down towards the level of the dungeon that Penelope so recently-escaped from, accompanied by a shower of broken stones.
It's a long fall, but not a terribly long fall. He probably won't even be injured. Just watch out for Penelope's dagger falling after you!
The floor continues to crumble, and Charles and Penelope might be caught up in it, but they certainly have more time to do something about it.

Down below, they'll find themselves in a misshapen room of partially worked stone, where the dug-out dungeon intersects with a natural cave. Old barrels, chests, and dusty shelves are all around. A narrow passage leads one way (north), and a wider passage leads another (southeast).

Dungeon Odyssey

”Gwas!” Charles exclaims in surprise.
What is perhaps more surprising to all three people (and skull) in the room is that Charles immediately jumps into the pit after the strigoi, wrapping an arm around his waist. With a burst of phantasmal feathers, his fall (and Gwas’) should be slowed to the point that none of their bones should shatter.
”Come on, what did we say about sticking together?” he jokes weakly, pale in the face. Just what did he think he was doing?

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope jumps off of the cracks in the ground and watches the two guys go plummeting into the hole that appears. She glances down. "If these wings don't work, I'm burning this place to the ****ing ground!" She steels herself and jumps. She spreads her wings.
She knows nothing about flying, but she's hoping the same weirdness that made her not notice her lack of hands will also make her able to do it anyway.

If not, this is going to hurt.

[Dungeon Odyssey]

Even if it doesn't result in injury, a fall of that distance in silver armor is hardly pleasant and Gwas needs a moment to recover.

A moment he won't get, now that he's noticed Penelope didn't fall with them, but rather jumped down after, counting on her new wings to keep her from splattering against the ground.

Gwas hurries to the spot just underneath her, braced to catch her in case it turns out she's wrong about that. Here's hoping he would make for a softer landing than the floor.

[Recaiden]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

Penelope can fly!
Or at least sort of glide down to the ground without harm. She might gently bonk into the wall near the end of the descent, because she doesn't have much practice with wings, but she'll be fine.

Also, once she's down there, she'll hear the creaking sound of those living statues that chased her up the stairs.
Well, everyone will hear it, but Penelope should recognize it. They're patrolling around off to the north.

"Okay, thanks fer not dropping me, but why did ya carry me with you when you jumped into this pit at all?" complains the skull.
"Where are we, even? Don't recognize this part of the dungeon, no sir."

[Deathkeeper]

Dungeon Odyssey

What, not even a thank you? Charles burned a spell slot for you, Gwas!
"If you want I can toss you back to the top, but you'll probably be sitting there for the rest of ever." Charles offers. Well, he probably couldn't make that throw but Gwas could.
Charles takes a moment to retrieve Penelope's dagger and return it to her scabbard even if she can't use it. It costs money, after all!
Then they hear a noise to the north!
"I vote we do not go that way." he declares, moving to check the southern door unless the other two refuse to come with him.

[bc56]

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope makes an ungainly landing.

But she actually flew! Or at least glided. She frowns at the dagger being slid into her sheath. She can't use it anymore. Or pick locks. Or... Really any of her thieving skills.
Damn this dungeon! She wants her hands back!
"The things making that sound are hostile, we want to avoid them," she points out, "I ran into them last time I was down below. Big moving statues."

[Ironsmith]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

"How big?" Gwas interjects, crackling his knuckles. "They may have been too much for you alone, but you have Charles and I now. And this being a dungeon, one can be certain that the path to an exit will be the one of greatest resistance. We may need to fight our way through regardless."

[Shadowcaller]

Double Date

Jim raises an eyebrow. How?
”Well he showed me how to do it and then taught me how to do all the steps in the process one by one and then helped me put it all together. Took about five years.” he explains simply.
”While also teaching me magic. We keep very busy at the Toy Tinker.” he adds with his signature grin.

[Double Date]

Batu, who has been watching Jim and Div work for a while, walks up to Div to wrap his arms around his waist.

"I should watch you work more often," he says.

[Double Date]

Div blushes much more deeply. "Was I that good?" He asks. He nods to Radigal. "Yeah, I'll take a lunch break."

As he tries to draw Batu over to a table to sit, he looks at the lion again. "Say, Radigal... what do you get out of all this? Do you just enjoy watching people work and helping out? Or is there a goal to it all?"

Double Date

"Five years." Jaahlyn let's out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "I can see why you're so brilliant then. I didn't even know you had worked with him that long. You have to show me what else he's taught you one of these days. Like the magic you just mentioned."

Meanwhile, Radigal tilts his head as he looks at Div. "A goal? Let me ask you this in turn, young crafter. Do you have a goal with your creative ambitions?"

[Recaiden]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

You know, bigger than Penelope, smaller than Gwas.

And remember, Penelope, you were able to pick a lock open earlier, feathers and all. And didn't you carry the flashlight all that way?

The southern door is not so much a door as a hole in the wall. A few bugs scurry away from Charles's noise and light.
One can hear a slow drip---drip---drip of water somewhere ahead, and there are small patches of moss on the walls.

[Deathkeeper]

Double Date

Jim smiles. Barnabas twitches inside of Jim's bag. A small ball of light appears in Jim's hand and dances around his knuckles with alacrity. It rolls down his forefinger and he flicks it, sending it sailing over Jaahlyn's head where it stops. It sits above Jaahlyn's head for exactly three full seconds before vanishing in a soft flash.
Jim says not a word though his smile never fades.

Dungeon Odyssey

"Right. Well. Neither of us can fight so you'll have to take point again, Gwas. I'll be right here." Charles will follow Gwas if the strigoi advances into the cave.
"So uh, did this castle have a patron? There was a shrine and everything. And I have felt like something has been feeding me information the last few minutes." he asks the skull.
It's exceptionally hard to explain. How do you tell someone that you heard a voice that isn't a voice?

[Morty]

[Double Date]

"You just look cute when you're so focused," Batu says as he sits down next to Div, staying close to him.

[Murkus]

[Double Date]

"Batu, c'mon, stooop," Div says, turning intensely red and smiling bashfully. He is happy for Radigal's distraction. "Oh, uh. Well, I guess it's part of what I said. I'd like to be remembered. I'd like to inspire people. I'd like people to look at things I make and feel something stir in their own hearts... And if they create something because of me, because of some idea they had that was born partly from mine, well... That's my legacy. I think that's beautiful. And it would make me proud."

[bc56]

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope did hold things, but she doesn't know how she did it. Therefore, she can't do it again.
She sticks to the rear, maybe she can claw someone with her talons if she has to, but she's not going to be much use, especially against the statues.

[Ironsmith]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

You know, bigger than Penelope, smaller than Gwas.

And remember, Penelope, you were able to pick a lock open earlier, feathers and all. And didn't you carry the flashlight all that way?

The southern door is not so much a door as a hole in the wall. A few bugs scurry away from Charles's noise and light.
One can hear a slow drip---drip---drip of water somewhere ahead, and there are small patches of moss on the walls.

Dungeon Odyssey

"Right. Well. Neither of us can fight so you'll have to take point again, Gwas. I'll be right here." Charles will follow Gwas if the strigoi advances into the cave.
"So uh, did this castle have a patron? There was a shrine and everything. And I have felt like something has been feeding me information the last few minutes." he asks the skull.
It's exceptionally hard to explain. How do you tell someone that you heard a voice that isn't a voice?

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope did hold things, but she doesn't know how she did it. Therefore, she can't do it again.
She sticks to the rear, maybe she can claw someone with her talons if she has to, but she's not going to be much use, especially against the statues.

[Dungeon Odyessey]

Gwas takes this time to try to push through the crack, which will undoubtedly be a tight fit, given his girth and choice of apparel. He won't go very far into the next room; he's scouting ahead to see what the threat looks like, not charging in to meet it just yet.

[Recaiden]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

The skull, predictably, complains. "Hey, how about before you go anywhere, you get my teeth outta that pocket, Mr.-I-have-working-hands?"
"Patron? There was a king off somewhere, if that's what ya mean. Those shrine guys, they weren't in charge here or nothing. But it's bad fortune to turn away holy men, no matter how creepy, ya know?"

"You think you have a message from god, an' it's not some wizard thing a yours?"

Gwas will squeeze through the hall and see a small room with a large and elaborate fireplace, surrounded by small golden braziers and candlesticks. All unlit at the moment. To the right is a recently -unlocked wooden door. To the left is a broader short hallway and a room with water(?) Spiderwebs fill the upper corners of the area, and stalking through the room is one of those gargoyle statues. It is, as advertised, smaller than Gwas, but seems to be made of solid stone, with long chiseled claws and a distorted ever-grinning face. It hasn't seen Gwas just yet.

[Deathkeeper]

Dungeon Odyssey

”God? No, it couldn’t be. I’m no cleric. But something spooky is going on.”
He glances between the skull and Penelope, his eyes asking her if she wants to volunteer where she’s keeping the teeth so he can retrieve them. Gwas presents a more pressing issue.
”Gwas?! Why the crud are you going that way? There’s a bigger door right there that isn’t making loud monster noises.” Why is he squeezing through to the dangerous door instead of the wide open way? He’s sure the vampire didn’t hit his head.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Mine - Lessons in Deicide

The Skull of Am-Het flies pretty fast, perhaps not aeroplane fast but quicker than many birds. It'll slow down as necessary, able to modulate its speed pretty well- which makes sense, given the thing relies on flight to get around, what with lacking any other bones.

It leads the way to an overgrown spoil heap, overlooking a hole in the cliff. There's a wisp of smoke coming from the hole, thick and black. Visible nearby are some signs of hasty retreat- a rusty minecart sits on equally rusty rails, still attached to a rotting leather harness for a pit-pony, and filled with loose rubble and some very old pickaxes, mattocks and hammers. It's very hot, especially near the exit of the mine, and there's not a lot of oxygen in the air there either- more smoke, carbon monoxide, and soot. The skull floats down and lands near the entrance, before turning to Kiun. I have no voice, that is something I lost in my imprisonment. So I need you to call out to Collignithrack. Call him, name him Doom of Sandthurst Mining Company, Bringer of Smoke and Fear, Dragon of the Depths and... eh, make something up. He's insecure and ambitious, a lesser god formed from fire, coal, smoke, fear and death. You don't have to, but it'll get him up to the surface where we have more advantages. We don't want to go into the mine and confront him there; he's spent centuries down there, unable to leave for long periods because it's what he's god of. Plus, I think you need to breathe.

[Recaiden]

[Lessons in Deicide]

Kiun lands on a heap of rubble and looks the place over. She doesn't mind the heat, of course, but she does take a moment coughing at the polluted air. She looks over the skull's message, and finally nods.

"I can hold my breath for a moderately long time, if it comes up." But it's exhausting, so fighting in an airless mineshaft should be avoided, yes.

She hops down and approaches the mine entrance, forcing herself to take a deep breath and then shout a challenge. Some part of her wonders if she should be doing this. But it part of their agreement, and gods are an ongoing concern. It's probably for the best that this coal-flame god be dealt with now.
"Hear me, Collignithrack, Doom of Sandthurst Mining Company, Bringer of Smoke and Fear, Dragon of the Depths, Bane of Miners, Lord of the Tunnels! I am Marquess Kiun of Ell! Come up and face me if you can!"

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry’s Grove

”I will take his cooperation as a compliment, then.” Aran says with a smile.

The explanation seems reasonable enough.
”Restricting the magic like that would definitely be a limitation. Really right now I think its flexibility is one of the greatest things about it. The biggest factor is my own control. Which of course is why I can’t make myself a Mask as potent as the Bear without you showing me exactly how to do it first.”
Which of course brings up the Bear, and Ukry’s suggestion to use it. He looks around, trying to find an excuse but is unable to think of one. With a long exhale, his form swells until he is once again a supremely rotund sun bear.
”I always feel strange when I’m like this. Do you like this Mask? It’s the one that you made for me. I’m curious what you think of the lot, really.”
He leans forward so that Ukry might place the monocle on him. With it he surely will seem like a very distinguished bear.

Ukry’s Grove

Ukry smiles softly on seeing the puff of the bear, but carefully notches the monocle where it can sit quite well. "Mmm. You'd look quite all right wearing a little suit now, We think. Now then.... We do enjoy this form. It may not look it, but it's far more resilient than your other masks. Observe;" Ukry gives the side of the bear a thump, the action causing a long ripple through the poof. However, through the monocle Aran can see the strands of magic weave as soon as the strike happens, catching the force and changing it into motion much more efficiently than would naturally happen. It's almost like smelling the meat cooking; the magic changes smoothly into the next form, but little hints of the original remain. "And it also has a smooth connection with the weave, meaning no matter where you are, you can call upon your form's core elements, especially lightning." Ukry reaches into the air, fingers grasping long electric blue and yellow magic, then pulling it away. As the magic knots and binds, it bursts into crackling arcs, filling the room briefly with the smell of ozone. "Now you try... use the monocle to view the magic, then guide it to change. Remember, each action you do can change the magic; be it a color change, a pattern, a weave, a knot, or a tear. Colors, patterns, and weaves are typically seen as less dangerous, more stable forms of magic, while knots are damaging effects on the surrounding, and tears are curses. Each can be used without danger, but requires more skill than the last. Start simple, with color changes, and patterns."

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry's Grove

"That tickles." The display is quite impressive. He wasn't aware this shape had built-in shock dampeners. There's probably a pun in there somewhere.
He experimentally reaches down and slaps his belly with a paw, causing a similar display of absorption. He doesn't feel even a hint of pain, even when he increases the force. That's good to know even if it means he has a cartoon moment waiting to happen.
Aran reaches out to the strands in the air. He fumbles about with his oversized paws but he does his best to reach out for the blue and yellow strands in the air. Grasping the colors themselves is more abstract than he's ever had to do before. But Ukry said it was simple, and somehow it is. It's natural as breathing for a storm bear. Just a pluck, sending the blue and yellow strands swapping back and forth.
The bear grins a toothy grin over at Ukry, but it quickly turns awkward.
"So um. A suit, huh? I um. Well. So you um. You like this shape? More than the others, I mean? You would want me in it? I um. Thought you were making fun of me last time."

[Aurora Alchemi]

Ukry's Grove

The witch smiles and nods as Aran begins to get the hang of changing the colors around. "Those are elemental colors, related to sound, the thunder, and lightning, the electricity. Try turning them into fire... It's a little bit harder to do than just swapping for each other, but it's still close enough to be simple. Baby steps, as it were." Then Aran asks his awkward question, which prompts a proper guffaw from the gazelle. "Aran, dear, baby, sweet thing, lovable lump... We like all of your forms equally. For they are all you, and each is a different you that you feel comfortable in different ways. This one we find useful for certain things, however others are useful in other ways. Were we to need to break down a wall, we could throw you through it in this form, but if we needed to send a message to someone, your dragon form has more useful magic for that purpose. It's important to not judge yourself based on what is best for everything, but rather to look at what parts of yourself are most useful at different times." The witch smiles at Aran. "After all, were we to not find the usefulness of curses, these masks wouldn't be possible in the first place." Ukry motions to the band, slipping a finger in the air and pulling back some of what keeps the witch's magic hidden. What appears is like a Mandelbrot or Julia set of scintillating colors, different pieces of magic woven in amongst themselves, knotted, torn, and reknitted in unfathomably complex ways. Letting the veil slip back, the witch nods.

"Start by learning what each facet of your mask can do... then reach out and begin to form your own masks. They will be simple at first, but the more you understand, the more you can do."

[Deathkeeper]

Ukry's Grove

Aran makes a small gasp. He doesn't really understand what he's seeing, not really. But he feels as if Ukry has shared something very private for him.
"But is the dragon not a mask that I made myself?" he asks them, still trying to understand how all of this works.

He smirks, turning his head and trying best to look clever.
"And if you asked me I'd say that this form was good for more than being a bowling ball. I would say it's probably rather good at hugs."
He reaches up, letting the threads change from one to the other again. And then a spark. He isn't sure where it comes from, but it comes as bidden. Just a tiny thing, enough to light a thread into a flicker of flame beyond his nose. But it is a fire, at least.

[bc56]

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope grimmaces. "I don't think we can stop him." She'd rather not deal with those statues again, but since Gwas is going there, she'll at least watch what happens. She doesn't expect to be much help.

[Ironsmith]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

The skull, predictably, complains. "Hey, how about before you go anywhere, you get my teeth outta that pocket, Mr.-I-have-working-hands?"
"Patron? There was a king off somewhere, if that's what ya mean. Those shrine guys, they weren't in charge here or nothing. But it's bad fortune to turn away holy men, no matter how creepy, ya know?"

"You think you have a message from god, an' it's not some wizard thing a yours?"

Gwas will squeeze through the hall and see a small room with a large and elaborate fireplace, surrounded by small golden braziers and candlesticks. All unlit at the moment. To the right is a recently -unlocked wooden door. To the left is a broader short hallway and a room with water(?) Spiderwebs fill the upper corners of the area, and stalking through the room is one of those gargoyle statues. It is, as advertised, smaller than Gwas, but seems to be made of solid stone, with long chiseled claws and a distorted ever-grinning face. It hasn't seen Gwas just yet.

Dungeon Odyssey

”God? No, it couldn’t be. I’m no cleric. But something spooky is going on.”
He glances between the skull and Penelope, his eyes asking her if she wants to volunteer where she’s keeping the teeth so he can retrieve them. Gwas presents a more pressing issue.
”Gwas?! Why the crud are you going that way? There’s a bigger door right there that isn’t making loud monster noises.” Why is he squeezing through to the dangerous door instead of the wide open way? He’s sure the vampire didn’t hit his head.

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope grimmaces. "I don't think we can stop him." She'd rather not deal with those statues again, but since Gwas is going there, she'll at least watch what happens. She doesn't expect to be much help.

[Dungeon Odyssey]

...That's it?

Gwas raises an eyebrow and turns briefly to look back at Penelope and Charles with some amount of disbelief. Neither of them are as big and powerful as he is, but come on. One little gargoyle and they're both running the other way? It's like they've never been in a dungeon before.

...Then again, with the way Penelope was acting, and the volume of noises through here, it might well be that there's more than one gargoyle.

All the same, Gwas will slowly draw his bow and nock an arrow, internally questioning whether this creature is solid stone, merely plated in it, or organic but made to look stony. In the first case, he doesn't expect the shot to accomplish much, but putting an arrow into the creature could prove to be an asset as the fight goes on, restricting its mobility and hindering its balance. For either of the other two, he's confident in his ability to skewer the monster, as he's already put arrows into the similarly-composed dungeon walls with no issue.

Well. Moment of truth.

thrump!

[Earl of Purple]

Lessons in Deicide

A wall of blistering heat heralds Collignithrak's arrival. It looks like a dragon, or possibly an oversized crocodile, with a body carved from black coal, white at the edges where it's turning to ash and cracked throughout with red heat. It doesn't have wings, but it's at least as long as an articulated lorry- only about two-thirds of its length leaves the mine. Its eyes and mouth glow hottest, and spills black smoke into the sky. It shivers, sending a cascade of coal dust and ash from its body. "You wish to stand against me? You? I'd be insulted if it didn't promise to be amusing. Kneel, swear fealty to me, pledge to my worship, and I shall let you live. Or, keep standing and die."

He's grown since I last saw him. He's found some worshippers, or some other source of power. I was not expecting this. The reflection in the skull's mirror looks a little worried at this discovery.

[Recaiden]

[Lessons in Deicide]

As the wave of heat comes over them, Kiun does start to sweat, but she endures it better than most. No blisters. Doesn't even flinch.
That is big, and for a moment she has no idea how to fight such a thing.
But there are bigger things in the hive. Ell, and the ancient titans, and that new thing that they're arguing over the name for. So it's not so daunting, is it?

She barely reads the skull's mirror, as the giant coal-spirit-crocodile is just a bit distracting, and she is tensing her body to fly and fight.
"...no. You weren't even ever alive. You're just a fire, a waste, that has gone on too long."

[Dungeon Odyssey]

The way that the arrow fails to punch right through the monster, instead sticking into its flank and creating a web of cracks, suggests that it is made of solid stone after all.
It turns (a bit slowly) and leaps towards Gwas, spreading its stone wings as if they could possibly help it glide along, and wildly swinging its claws if it gets close enough.

The other gargoyle stomps away from the staircase and towards the room where the fight is unfolding.

There's motion from the larger southern hallway as well. The sound of very-many little feet on the stone and a faint acidic smell wafting through the air.

[Deathkeeper]

Dungeon Odyssey

Charles gulps. From the sound of it they're about to be flanked. And he and Penelope are both going to be mostly useless in a fight. He cringes and burns one of his only mildly useful spells for combat: he casts a simple illusion around them of the cave face around them. There is nothing here. No delicious people to attack. Nope. Nothing to see here. Maybe that will buy them time for Gwas to fend off the gargoyle.

[bc56]

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope tries to be as still and quiet as possible behind the illusion. She doesn't want whatever is coming to realize they're there, and she doesn't fancy her chances of surviving if it attacks.
It sounds like some sort of giant bug too, which is unpleasant. She doesn't want to be bug food.

[Earl of Purple]

Lessons in Deicide

"Fire is always alive, and always hungry. I'll show you." The immense crocodile-like elemental opens its mouth wide and a blast of blue flames and thick smoke erupt from it at Kiun; the flames are hotter than those of the Burning Bishop, a mix of firedamp and hydrogen sulphide fuelling the flames, and whilst the fire itself doesn't last as long it's followed by invisible clouds of afterdamp, which stick around and are impossible to breathe. Collignithrak doesn't move, expecting its usual weapons of fire and toxic gases to be enough to kill the hiveling. It's never encountered anyone it couldn't kill, after all, with dust explosions, fire or gas.

[Ironsmith]

[Dungeon Odyssey]

The way that the arrow fails to punch right through the monster, instead sticking into its flank and creating a web of cracks, suggests that it is made of solid stone after all.
It turns (a bit slowly) and leaps towards Gwas, spreading its stone wings as if they could possibly help it glide along, and wildly swinging its claws if it gets close enough.

The other gargoyle stomps away from the staircase and towards the room where the fight is unfolding.

There's motion from the larger southern hallway as well. The sound of very-many little feet on the stone and a faint acidic smell wafting through the air.

Dungeon Odyssey

Charles gulps. From the sound of it they're about to be flanked. And he and Penelope are both going to be mostly useless in a fight. He cringes and burns one of his only mildly useful spells for combat: he casts a simple illusion around them of the cave face around them. There is nothing here. No delicious people to attack. Nope. Nothing to see here. Maybe that will buy them time for Gwas to fend off the gargoyle.

Dungeon Odyssey
Penelope tries to be as still and quiet as possible behind the illusion. She doesn't want whatever is coming to realize they're there, and she doesn't fancy her chances of surviving if it attacks.
It sounds like some sort of giant bug too, which is unpleasant. She doesn't want to be bug food.

[Dungeon Odyssey]

Out of the corner of his eyes, Gwas sees Charles and Penelope elect to hide behind an illusory cave wall rather than join him in putting down the gargoyle...s. Huh. Looks like there are more of them down here. He's not sure if his companions are avoiding the fight altogether or preparing an ambush, but either way, if their plan is to be successful, Gwas will need to make certain the local monsters don't snoop around their hiding spot for too long.

Fortunately, he makes for a very large, very loud distraction.

As the gargoyle approaches him, Gwas drops his bow and enters a melee-ready stance, crouching slightly and bringing up his massive hands in preparation to deflect any particularly nasty attacks and to respond with powerful strikes of his own. Watching the monster's approach, he quickly comes to the conclusion that he's dealing with something closer to a wild animal than an intelligent sentinel, and as such the only defense he really seems to need (apart from his armor) is putting up his left arm to catch the claws, leaving his right free to take a swing at the already-cracked section of the gargoyle's side. With a little luck, he might be able to exacerbate the injury enough to break the creature in half.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Spoiler

Show

Ukry's Grove

Aran makes a small gasp. He doesn't really understand what he's seeing, not really. But he feels as if Ukry has shared something very private for him.
"But is the dragon not a mask that I made myself?" he asks them, still trying to understand how all of this works.

He smirks, turning his head and trying best to look clever.
"And if you asked me I'd say that this form was good for more than being a bowling ball. I would say it's probably rather good at hugs."
He reaches up, letting the threads change from one to the other again. And then a spark. He isn't sure where it comes from, but it comes as bidden. Just a tiny thing, enough to light a thread into a flicker of flame beyond his nose. But it is a fire, at least.

Ukry's Grove

Ukry laughs softly. "It is, in some ways. Think of it like a clay pot; you were responsible for giving it a certain shape and artistry, while we were responsible for ensuring it can still hold water, and producing the initial clay. You have a certain degree of influence, yes, but the mask overall is a creation of our own, and until you've dove much deeper, the changes you make are going to be primarily... superficial, to a degree." Or at least as superficial as a completely different body form was.

The idea of the bear being good at hugs brings a raised eyebrow, and Ukry gives a small smile. "Yes, yes we suppose it is, isn't it? Though equally it might make a nice lounge chair or foot rest, so be careful how far you take that line of logic, heh." The witch rolls over into a leaning position, belly laying against the back of the chair and watches with interest as the boy plays with the sparks, shifting from electric to fire and around again. "Good, good. You are starting to develop a feeling for it. With time, you will find that it is easy to go farther, or to pull new threads and patterns. Now, look at how that spark is similar to this candle flame." Ukry reaches out, carefully taking a new candle in hand, then lighting it on the coals in the oven, before holding it up where the monocle can see.